The Mentalist - What if?

Chapter 19

A week later, Jane had sold his apartment for a cheap amount just to get rid of it; with the money sat in his account, he knew what he wanted to do but had no idea if Lisbon would agree. Taking a plunge, he invited Lisbon, and Matilda, out with him for the morning before he would be back to work two days later; despite having no information, Lisbon reluctantly agreed to accompany him on his mystery errand. With Matilda secured safely in the car seat, she sat in the front passenger seat as he began to drive.

"Where are you taking us?" She asked after twenty minutes.

"It's a surprise; relax, we'll be there soon"

"And where is there?"

"There is where we'll be in a couple of minutes; have some patience"

"Why can't you tell me?!" She asked, exasperated.

"Cos it's a surprise and you are impatient"

"I don't like surprises"

"Okay" he sighed as his destination came into his view on the horizon. "I sold my apartment, as you know and the money is just sitting in my account; I was thinking the other night and...What do you think?"

"Of what?" She asked, confused.

"This" He replied, gesturing to the house they were currently pulling in front of.

Slowly stepping out of the car, Lisbon took in the beauty of the house; with a double garage to the right hand side, a big driveway lined with flowers and trees and a porch to match the style of an expensive mansion, she couldn't help but fall in love with it.

"Are you moving out? You said you wouldn't leave?" She asked, her fears resurfacing as she turned to him, now standing at her side with Matilda in his arms.

"Leaving you? Never, I made a promise and I have every intention of keeping it; moving out? Sort of but not alone..."

"I don't..."

"I want us to have our own proper place together; the apartment isn't gonna be big enough"

"You brought it already, didn't you?" She asked, realisation hitting. "Without asking me if I wanted to move?"

"If you don't, I'll rent it out; extra source of income" he shrugged. "At least come and have a look inside? I won't push you"

Glancing back at the front of the building, she sighed and nodded; entering the foyer, she got the feeling of it been a family home for a long time. Heading towards the left hand side of the house, she found herself in the kitchen, equipped with all the modern appliances and stainless steel cupboards; running her hand over the  white granite worktop, she smiled. Heading through to the lounge, she noticed how the furniture was similar to that of her apartment; clearly he had thought of how much easier he could make the transition of moving.

"I wanna show you something?" He said as he watched from the entrance to the room.

Following him upstairs, he took her hand and led her into one of the many bedrooms; opening the door, she gasped. Although the nursery itself wasn't furnished, as they had all the new items at the apartment, he'd clearly got the decorators in to make it as warm and loving as possible.

"Come on"

Taking her down the corridor, he showed her into the master bedroom with ensuite bathroom; again, the room had been decorated in her style with hints of his. He'd even splashed out and got new furniture and a brand new king size bed; testing it out, they took a seat.

"How did I not know about any of this? How did you do it? You've not left the apartment unless you went to work"

"May have took a couple of personal days, the team covered for me"

"It's beautiful, the whole place"

"But...?"

"Why didn't you just tell me? Have i done something wrong?"

"Lisbon, when you saw my apartment, it wasn't my intention to upset you; and neither is this. I want us to have somewhere we can call a proper home; a home with a garden for Matilda to play in, maybe a little kitten or puppy around the place but more importantly, a chance for a fresh start. Away from all the bad memories and the uncertainties, for both of us; when I'm not there, you don't sleep, even before Matilda came along. I want you to feel safe, with or without me"

Biting her lip, she blinked away the tears and took another look around the room; it really was her perfect home, even if it was bigger than they needed.

"You promise to never leave?"

"If I have to go anywhere, you'll be the first to know" he promised.

"It's perfect..."

"Is that a yes?" He grinned, handing Matilda into her arms.

She nodded as he leant in for a kiss; resting her head on his shoulder, she took in the simplicity of the room. He had literally thought of everything; she could see the edges of the hidden safe behind one of the bedside tables, designed to hold her gun, especially while she was on leave. Even the bedside table drawers had locks on them; he'd even baby proofed everywhere ready; with Matilda sleeping back in Jane's arms, she went to check out the ensuite. If she thought she'd fell in love with the kitchen, it was nothing compared to this room; it was like something you would see in a top end, penthouse hotel room. The huge double bath in the middle of the room was big enough for two, which made her thankful for the times he had held her whilst she was pregnant and in need of a soothing bath; looking round, she realised all the rooms had the same white built in monitors and speakers.

"Built in baby monitors in every room; all connected to each other. No matter where you are, you can change it to look in the room Matilda is; there's also a very hi-tech security system with a built in alarm straight to the local precinct" he said, still sitting on the bed as he noticed her by the doorway.

"You really have thought of everything, have you?" She asked, looking at him.

"You need somewhere you feel safe, for Matilda and yourself; when you're alone, you panic but at the same time, you feel I make you more stressed out when I'm there all the time" he said, holding his hand out for her to rejoin him on the bed, having moved up to the top end, propped up against the headboard.

"I don't mean to make you feel like you're not wanted in your own home" she said, feeling guilty as she settled next to him and snuggled against his body, one of his arms around her shoulders.

"I know you don't but sometimes, your actions does the talking for you; come on, I tell you I have a surprise for you and you're instantly suspicious"

"Can you blame me? Look at all the crap you pulled before we got together and let's face it, if it wasn't for that doctor poisoning me or getting pregnant, would you have even told me how you felt?"

"You still don't believe I'm not going anywhere, do you? Teresa, I brought us a house; regardless of how or why we got together, we did and this is where we are now. I love you, and Matilda especially like my own; she, and you, are my second chance of doing it right. I'm not talking marriage or anything, but we live together and as you said last week, have done for the Last eight months; I've given you everything, literally. You know more about me and my past than I would normally tell anyone because I trust you and we went into this with honesty, from both of us; this house, with me, you and Matilda, is a chance of a fresh start for both of us, if you let it"

She nodded against him and nodded, tiredly; not needing to go anywhere for a while, he let her sleep as her eyes closed and breathing evened out.